Trailing suction hopper dredge to be IHC's largest yet

Trailing suction hopper dredge for Chinese contractor will be built in the Netherlands

FEBRUARY 5, 2014 — Sliedrecht, the Netherlands, headquartered IHC Merwede is to start construction of the largest trailing suction hopper dredge that it has ever produced. It has been ordered by China's CCCC Guangzhou Dredging Company (GDC) — and it will be built in a Dutch shipyard, despite the fact that GDC is based in a country whose shipbuilding industry has been growing in capabilities as well as sheer scale.

The order for the giant dredge is among €350 million in orders just reported by IHC Merwede. Other contracts secured by its Dredging division include 13 units that will be supplied by IHC Beaver Dredgers. These consist of 11 standard IHC Beaver cutter suction dredges, a Delta Multi Craft standard work boat and a booster station. IHC Merwede's policy is to deliver standard vessels and equipment from stock, so it is able to meet the demand for short delivery times in this market.

In addition, Huta Marine Works has commissioned IHC Merwede to develop and supply a cutter suction dredge training simulator. It will accompany the delivery of a custom-built cutter suction dredge currently under construction for the Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, based contractor at IHC Merwede's shipyard in Kinderdijk. Huta Marine Works will use the simulator in training courses for operators of the latest cutter suction dredges in its fleet and it will include the technical capability to incorporate future vessels.

The Offshore division has secured orders for the construction of a 300-tonne pipelaying vessel, as well as a J-Lay pipelaying system and a tandem mooring system. The 300-tonne pipelaying vessel ordered by Sapura Navegação Marítima will be delivered with a pipelay spread supplied by IHC Engineering Business.

An additional offshore order from Petrofac includes the design and construction of a 2,000- tonne capacity J-Lay pipelaying system. This will be installed on Petrofac's recently announced new deep-water construction vessel.

The tandem mooring system – used for the safe mooring of the bow of an export tanker to the stern or bow of a FPSO – will be the seventeenth product of its kind put into operation by IHC Merwede in the floating production market. It will be installed on one of MODEC's FPSO vessels in Ghana.

Bram Roelse, IHC Merwede's COO, commented: "These valuable new orders are confirmation of IHC Merwede's reputation as 'the technology innovator'. We invest in long-term relationships to provide the best possible solutions, so that our international customers continue to appreciate the reliability and efficiency of our products and services